Trump's bid to overturn 2020 election has Democrats democracy advocates on edge

2/11/2024 5:46

        Republican Donald
        Trump's false claims about voter fraud in the critical
        battleground of Pennsylvania have raised concerns he could again
        try to overturn election results if he fares poorly against
        Democrat Kamala Harris in Tuesday's U.S. presidential election.
        
        Opinion polls, both nationally and in the seven closely
        divided states, show former President Trump locked in a tight
        race with Vice President Harris four days before Election Day.
        
        Trump continues to falsely claim his 2020 loss to Democratic
        President Joe Biden was the result of widespread fraud in
        multiple states that Trump lost, while he and his supporters
        have spread baseless claims about this election.
        
        Trump on Thursday stepped up his unfounded allegations that
        probes into suspect voter registration forms in Pennsylvania are
        proof of voter fraud. Some of his supporters alleged voter
        suppression when long lines formed this week to receive mail-in
        ballots.
        
        Harris' Democrats, meanwhile, are preparing for the
        possibility that Trump could try to prematurely claim victory
        before all votes are counted, as he did in 2020. Their initial
        plan is to flood social media and news media with calls for calm
        and patience should he do so.
        
        "We are sadly ready if he does and, if we know that he is
        actually manipulating the press and attempting to manipulate the
        consensus of the American people ... we are prepared to
        respond," Harris said in an interview with ABC on Wednesday.
        
        Trump's false claims about voter fraud after the 2020 vote
        preceded the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol by
        Trump supporters seeking to halt or sway the congressional
        certification of the electoral votes that determine who becomes
        president.
        
        "This is sowing the seeds for attempts to overturn an
        election," said Kyle Miller, a strategist with the advocacy
        group Protect Democracy. "We saw it in 2020, and I think the
        lesson Trump and his allies have learned since is that they have
        to sow these ideas early."
        
        Trump's allies also have raised concerns that
        noncitizens could vote in significant numbers, though there are
        few examples of that happening. On Friday, several U.S.
        intelligence agencies said Russia had created a video
        circulating online that falsely show people from Haiti voting
        multiple times in the state of Georgia. The video is part of
        Russia's efforts to undermine confidence in the election and
        divide Americans, the agencies said.
        
        Georgia's top election official said Thursday the video
        likely came from a Russian troll farm.
        
        State officials and democracy advocates said the
        Pennsylvania incidents show a system working as intended. A
        judge extended the mail-in ballot deadline by three days in
        Bucks County, north of Philadelphia, after the former U.S.
        president's campaign sued over claims that some voters were
        turned away before a Tuesday deadline.
        
        Election officials discovered potentially fraudulent
        registrations in Lancaster and neighboring York counties,
        prompting investigations by local law enforcement. There is no
        evidence the applications have resulted in illegal votes.
        
        
        
        PREPARING TO BLAME A LOSS ON FRAUD
        
        Trump is due to hold rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin on
        Friday, while Harris has several events scheduled in Wisconsin,
        including a stop in Milwaukee featuring rapper Cardi B.
        
        Trump tells his rallies to expect a big victory on Tuesday,
        saying he could only envision losing "if it was a corrupt
        election."
        
        Trump's claims have raised concerns that he is preparing to
        again blame a potential loss in Pennsylvania, the largest of the
        seven states likely to decide the result of the election, on
        voter fraud.
        
        In a social media post on Thursday, he said: "We caught them
        CHEATING BIG in Pennsylvania" and demanded criminal
        prosecutions.
        
        The United States' unique method of choosing a president,
        rooted in the Constitution enacted in 1789, gives Trump an
        opportunity to seek to undermine election results at the local,
        state and national level.
        
        In 2020, the Trump team attempted 60 court cases alleging
        fraud in multiple states, all without success. But the
        experience has prepared lawyers from both parties for another
        attempt this year.